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Jon Wellinghoff, the Chairman of FERC, dissented from the other FERC commissioners’ decision to grant a permit for the Bradwood Landing LNG terminal on the Columbia River.  His dissent provides important reasons for why importation of LNG is not in the public interest.

            In outline, Chairman Wellinghoff argues that there is no need in the Pacific Northwest for LNG;  that there are reasonable and environmentally preferable alternatives; and that LNG will cost appreciable more than available domestic gas.  He argues also that the adverse impact on the Columbia River of 125 tankers per year are much worse than possible impacts of alternative domestic energy sources, including wind, solar and biomass.  Chairman Wellinghoff emphasizes the adverse environmental impacts of 20 to 50 million gallons of ballast and engine cooling water that will be consumed per tanker.  He concludes, “The evidence demonstrates that the Bradwood Project is not in the public interest and, therefore, the subject application should be denied…. (T)here are reasonable alternatives to the Bradwood Project to serve the projected energy needs of the Pacific Northwest in a more efficient, more reliable, and environmentally preferable manner… (S)ignificant environmental concerns about the Bradwood Project have not been fully or fairly evaluated.”

            The entire dissent can be seen at: www.ferc.gov/.../statements.../wellinghoff/2008/09-18-08-wellinghoff-C-1.pdf

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Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000210 EndHTML:0000003721 StartFragment:0000002571 EndFragment:0000003685 SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/aneuring/Desktop/Pipeline/Allen%20input%20to%20Think%20Aloud%203-10-10 Hundreds of Oregonians live today with threats against their farms, forest-lands, fisheries, and homesteads, threats of eminent-domain seizures for highway-size LNG pipeline routes. FERC, a federal agency, must show need for LNG before granting the right of eminent domain, but in Alice-In-Wonderland fashion, FERC states that if a corporation is willing to gamble millions on an LNG project, that’s sufficient evidence.  FERC refuses to consider whether Oregon in fact needs to import gas, or whether LNG will contribute to global warming, or whether US security will be harmed by dependence on Russian and middle-east gas, or whether LNG will interfere with Oregon’s attempts to develop renewable energy supplies. Senators Wyden & Merkley are owed our deep thanks, and Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Energy, as well, for attempting to insert rationality and science into the irrational and destructive FERC process.

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